Page 26 (1/2)
Prologue
At the sound of laughter and teasing voices, she glanced up fros out of her piercing green eyes She watched the culprits of the interruption shove and push each other while they walked to the counter of the coffee shop with their backs to her They continued behaving like twelve year olds while they placed their orders and moved off to the side to wait for their coffees The playful insults they lobbed at each othertheir closeness and love for one another behind ar Not that she had any kind of idea what it was like to have a sibling Or fa their interaction surprised her byThere was nothing about her fellow e students that ever held her interest They were i, and so far the ones sheparty or how quickly they could get to third base She had too much at stake and too much invested in her future to waste time with people like that
Feeling entirely too vulnerable where these strangers were concerned and the ely forced into her heart, she pushed her long, wavy hair off of one shoulder and started to put her head back down to finish reading the night's Photojournalisuys turned around Her eyes locked with his and she felt her heart speed up He was the type of ht and pray to God your ood after six hours of classes He made you blush and want to look over your shoulder to see if he was really looking at you or a prettier girl behind you
He wore faded jeans that hung low on his hips and a long-sleeved grey Abercroe student status, he was all man He easily reached six feet, and while he wasn’t your typical, th in his arher on one shoulder The defined muscles of his chest stretched across the cotton fabric of his fitted shirt and ainst hiers just to feel the heat fro his friend said, never taking his bright blue eyes off of her as he ran his long fingers through his short, ht black hair
She willed him to come over to her table and talk to her She wanted to hear his voice and know if it would affect her even half as hter, deep and unreserved, forced a tingle down her spine and shocked her again when she realized it sounded nothing like that of a college boy There were so et who she hat she’d been through, and the choices she made as a consequence Aside froh to her soul, and hoouldn’t tear his gaze away froet his attention, in just a few short enuine person: the way he let a woave his friend a stern look when he complained, or the tip he stuck into the jar on the counter when no one was looking instead of waiting for all eyes to be on him to see his kindness like most would do With just one look and a few charitable actions, she wanted to throw her beliefs out theand lose herself in hiet about the fact that she didn’t need or want anyone in her life and ignore the voice in her head re a piece of yourself with others only led to disappointment and a shattered heart
She forced herself to break the eye contact before she did soet up and approach him or press her lips to the side of his neck so she could taste his skin With a mental smack to her libido, she turned her attention to the friend standing next to hi but a few inches shorter His presence didn’t seem to command the room like Blue Eyes, but his sh, put her at ease A smile that held no secrets and would tell her no lies, like the ones she was used to lately She glanced back and forth between the about how she was never lucky enough to have one, let alone two good looking guys pay attention to her
Her srew as they both made their way over to her table
She’d always think back to thatyears and wonder ould have happened if things had been different, if only one of the boys had come into the coffee shop that day or if she had just listened to her brain instead of her heart and said no to that first date
Her life was forever changed as soon as those boys sat down next to her, and she needed to remind herself over and over that it happened exactly hoas meant to
She would never give up having those two men in her life no matter what happened or how hts away in a secret compartment in her heart They were her life, her best friends, and her family
But if you were given the chance to go back, to tell the truth instead of lie to save soswould you?
Chapter One
“It’s a beautiful lie It’s the perfect denial
Such a beautiful lie to believe in”
-30 Seconds to Mars, “A Beautiful Lie”
Eight years later
Garrett McCarthy hustled down the rickety wooden steps nestled between the wild grass and glanced quickly at his watch, nervously running his fingers through is close-cropped black hair He squinted his blue eyes at the setting sun as he quickened his pace
He made dinner reservations at Parker’s favorite Italian restaurant for eight o'clock When he knocked on her door at seven-thirty and didn't get an answer, he knew exactly where he'd find her
As he walked off the bottom step and his casual, brown lace-up Doc Martins sunk into the sand, he smiled when he saw her
She was flat on her stoe with her elbows propped up, holding the caentle wave that lapped up onto the shore inched its way around her body before sliding away and rushing back out to sea
When she orking on a project, she lost all sense of ti sand crabs: a freelance piece for National Geographic Probably not very exciting to so to her She loved the peacefulness of nature, and having a camera in her hand nothat small piece of metal in her hand transported her to another time and another place It made all of her cares disappear so her only concern or worry was for the subject on the other end of her lens It didn’toff to war zones or following news vans This ho she was Being a photojournalist was her life’s dream, and she worked her ass off to et herself through college all on her own And it made him respect her even more
Prologue
At the sound of laughter and teasing voices, she glanced up fros out of her piercing green eyes She watched the culprits of the interruption shove and push each other while they walked to the counter of the coffee shop with their backs to her They continued behaving like twelve year olds while they placed their orders and moved off to the side to wait for their coffees The playful insults they lobbed at each othertheir closeness and love for one another behind ar Not that she had any kind of idea what it was like to have a sibling Or fa their interaction surprised her byThere was nothing about her fellow e students that ever held her interest They were i, and so far the ones sheparty or how quickly they could get to third base She had too much at stake and too much invested in her future to waste time with people like that
Feeling entirely too vulnerable where these strangers were concerned and the ely forced into her heart, she pushed her long, wavy hair off of one shoulder and started to put her head back down to finish reading the night's Photojournalisuys turned around Her eyes locked with his and she felt her heart speed up He was the type of ht and pray to God your ood after six hours of classes He made you blush and want to look over your shoulder to see if he was really looking at you or a prettier girl behind you
He wore faded jeans that hung low on his hips and a long-sleeved grey Abercroe student status, he was all man He easily reached six feet, and while he wasn’t your typical, th in his arher on one shoulder The defined muscles of his chest stretched across the cotton fabric of his fitted shirt and ainst hiers just to feel the heat fro his friend said, never taking his bright blue eyes off of her as he ran his long fingers through his short, ht black hair
She willed him to come over to her table and talk to her She wanted to hear his voice and know if it would affect her even half as hter, deep and unreserved, forced a tingle down her spine and shocked her again when she realized it sounded nothing like that of a college boy There were so et who she hat she’d been through, and the choices she made as a consequence Aside froh to her soul, and hoouldn’t tear his gaze away froet his attention, in just a few short enuine person: the way he let a woave his friend a stern look when he complained, or the tip he stuck into the jar on the counter when no one was looking instead of waiting for all eyes to be on him to see his kindness like most would do With just one look and a few charitable actions, she wanted to throw her beliefs out theand lose herself in hiet about the fact that she didn’t need or want anyone in her life and ignore the voice in her head re a piece of yourself with others only led to disappointment and a shattered heart
She forced herself to break the eye contact before she did soet up and approach him or press her lips to the side of his neck so she could taste his skin With a mental smack to her libido, she turned her attention to the friend standing next to hi but a few inches shorter His presence didn’t seem to command the room like Blue Eyes, but his sh, put her at ease A smile that held no secrets and would tell her no lies, like the ones she was used to lately She glanced back and forth between the about how she was never lucky enough to have one, let alone two good looking guys pay attention to her
Her srew as they both made their way over to her table
She’d always think back to thatyears and wonder ould have happened if things had been different, if only one of the boys had come into the coffee shop that day or if she had just listened to her brain instead of her heart and said no to that first date
Her life was forever changed as soon as those boys sat down next to her, and she needed to remind herself over and over that it happened exactly hoas meant to
She would never give up having those two men in her life no matter what happened or how hts away in a secret compartment in her heart They were her life, her best friends, and her family
But if you were given the chance to go back, to tell the truth instead of lie to save soswould you?
Chapter One